Tea Party
by Katzedecimal
Summary: Hexadecimal is in a hurry to welcome Bob home. Expanding on the events in "Showdown," and written long before Season 4 was on the horizon actually, written about 2 days after the original broadcast date


_**"BOB!!"**_ -- And he was gone.

The world dissolved into sickening spinning light and colour, then abruptly cleared. Bob shook his head and looked around. He was indoors now, the bleak walls surrounding him entirely unfamiliar. He scanned the room: A fragmented sector, a corrupted file, with traces of viral energies clinging to the walls. Lost Angles. It couldn't be, he argued with himself. Lost Angles was a random sector, the burned-out remains of the Twin City, yet for all its craziness it'd been as bright and sunny as any place in Mainframe. Inside, the walls, for all that they were grey and often shadowed, were decorated with the lurid products of its inhabitant's imagination. They were NOT corrupt, neglected or festooned with null slime.

A giggle echoed. Bob's stomach did flips. Enzo, now a grown sprite, had told him what he had witnessed when he created the firewall: Megabyte's sister, Hexadecimal -- transformed, transfigured, transfixed. She had attacked the Principle Office and been destroyed by a descending Game. Megabyte had restored her. Megabyte had a price.

Enzo had described seeing Hex, her arms and legs bound spread eagle to the frame that focussed her viral energies, a pain-producing inhibitor collar around her throat. Megabyte had tortured her and her mask was one that Enzo had never seen before.. and hoped never to see again.

There was the giggle again, accompanied by a fleeting shadow darting through the gloom. "Hex?" Bob called, eyes searching in vain. If she'd been there, she was gone again. He felt a touch at his shoulder and spun around but caught only the psychotic giggle. There was a glimmer of green, viral eyes, then only blackness. "Hexadecimal?" he called towards the giggle.

"Well helloooooo Bob!" she chortled, "Have you come to try to spoil my fun?"

Bob swallowed. She had said that line once before, when she had hacked into the system and stolen a paint program. Events had occurred then that he didn't like to think about. "Hex? Where are you?"

There was a movement in the shadows. He crept toward it. She was crouched on top of an enormous, bloated couch. Her long legs were drawn up, stiletto heels digging into the sofa fabric, her spidery hands resting on her knees. Her cape spread out behind her, framing her upturned head like some weird alien carapace. Abruptly she looked down at him, her mask the familiar toothy-grin that signaled Hex at her most dangerous. "Welcome home, Guardian," she leered. Her long legs uncoiled and she lifted off the sofa. Before he could react she had him by the waist. "Shall we dance?"

Bob's mind whirled as frantically as Hexadecimal's waltz. It was hard to hear himself think over the thunderous silence. Hex's eyes were half-closed, her mask so peaceful it made Bob shiver. He forced himself calm, then started scanning. Even with Enzo's descriptions, the sight of her had been startling. Her new garments, her head-dress, all bespoke of a harder, more dangerous virus, precisely what Megabyte had wanted. They had surmised the events surrounding Megabyte's break-out but Bob wondered what the whole story had been. Hex at her games could come closer to deleting the entire system than the most strategic attack of Megabyte's -- If Megabyte had won, what had that meant for Hexadecimal?

"Oh, Bob!" Hex cried blissfully, wrenching him around the dance floor at break-neck speed, "Its so good to have you back! I was getting soooo lonely.."

"Ummm yeah. Uh, Hex? Could you ease up a little? I'm having trouble breathing.."

"Oh but you feel so GOOD, Guardian! ..Or are you a Guardian? I like the new outfit.. and such lovely hair.."

"Thanks... Really! I mean that! Uhm, could you .. stop that?"

"Oh but Bob... Did you miss me?"

Miss her?? Miss a chaos virus, who'd nearly destroyed Mainframe, who'd permitted that Web creature... No, she hadn't permitted that, it had jumped her. If she hadn't been... Bob shook his head and gazed up into the viral eyes, then frowned. "... What happened to your mask?"

Abruptly she released him, shoving him backwards. He collapsed into an overstuffed chair, winded. Apprehensive, he looked up to see her taking a seat opposite him on the bloated couch. She smiled pleasantly.

"What...?"

"But we have SOOOOOO much to talk about, dear Bob," she cooed. A tray appeared out of nowhere, laden with china and sandwiches, "You simply must tell me about the Web. Did you bring any pictures?"

He watched her. His scan was nearly complete and he didn't like what it was presenting. She picked up the porcelain tea pot and poured a cup, as feminine as Dot. Delicately, she offered it to him, offering him one of those peaceful smiles that made her look so pretty. He winced. The last time he had seen that smile, she had been lying in his arms, completely catatonic. His scan was almost complete: She had suffered a near-fatal power surge, but the power hadn't come from an outside source. "Um, Hex? The battle?"

She made a scoffing gesture, "Oh what about it, Bob dear? It'll get along just fine without us. We have so much to catch up on.. I'm so happy to have you back, I can't decide whether to keep you or kill you!" She laughed, her mask abruptly toothy, her voice shrill and broken.

She was insane. Bob gazed at her, grief filling his eyes. She had always been unstable, always following her code of chaos, even at the price of her own life. Following her train of thought was difficult, but not impossible, for even madness had a method. But insanity was something else. "...oh, Hex..." Bob breathed. He had provided the means. "What happened to your mask?" Her face suddenly turned blank. Bob got up and knelt beside her, concerned, "There's a mark on it.. it looks painful. Here, let me.." She wrenched out of his grasp, burying her face in the couch. "Hexadecimal?"

"... I don't think I can let you do that, Bob." She started to shiver.

"Oh, Hex.." Bob knelt and embraced her, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I didn't know.. It's not in my format to hurt you like that." It was his fault. He had misinterpreted Hex's means of self-transportation when he observed her downloading herself into her mask. He had thought that if he cut-pasted the mask, he could capture the virus. He'd never been so wrong. "He removed it, didn't he," Bob whispered, "He removed your mask, then left you to self-destruct.." He pictured Hex, flailing for her face, Scuzzy cowering from his mistress' screams. "First he shattered it... then.."

".. mobbed me..." came the broken whimper. Bob gasped. "Mobbed me... tied me down..."

"Then he took your mask and left you to die.. " Bob finished. "Oh, Hex.. I'm so sorry. If I hadn't made that mistake, he'd never have known how to do it."

"Scuzzy... tried to help me.. Hack and Slash..." Bob remembered: It had taken a massive power burst from Glitch to force Hex's mask back onto her face, so powerful were her escaping energies. He pictured the fight to save Hexadecimal's life, cradling the sobbing virus and feeling guilty. She shoved him back with brutal force. "YOU did this to me!" she screeched.

"I know," he said simply. His scan was complete. "But I can make amends." She stared at him, then her mask began to change. He watched at least fifteen changes take place, reflecting the tumult of her emotions. "Hex, please," Bob coaxed, "Let me look at your mask. You're in pain - I can see it."

She hid her face in her hands, "I'm...afraid?"

"I know." He guided her to her feet, then looped his arm around her waist and drew her into a close embrace.

"Oh Bob!!" she cried, her face abruptly delighted.

Bob blinked, surprised by the intimacy of her embrace. But he didn't have time for that, now. Stroking Hexadecimal's cheek, Bob took a last scan. Then he pressed his palm to her shattered mask and let the power flow. Hexadecimal screamed. The energies ebbed and Bob released his grip. Sobbing and shaking, Hex slid to the floor, clutching her face. Bob ran another scan but the results were reassuring. "Hex?"

"What have you done to me?" she sobbed out, "I trusted you!"

"I know," Bob whispered, "Its alright, really. I fixed it. It'll never happen again. Now no one can ever hurt you that way again. Does it still hurt?"

"It...! Its... no..." She sat back on her heels, "Look what you've done to me!" Bob knelt beside her as she turned towards her looking-glass, "Look what you've done.. to my face." She drew her hands away and Bob stared. The black mark was gone; the crazed lines where her mask had shattered had vanished. She turned to him, blinking her long, thick lashes in wonder. "Bob...?" she whispered, and her lips shone as she formed the word.

"I defragged your program," he smiled gently, "How do you feel?"

"I feel... For the first time... I feel whole." Her fingers rose to touch her lips, watching with wide green eyes. He reached out to hug her; she hugged him hard and he felt her shaking.

"Shall we call it even between us?" he whispered. Hex nodded. "Friends?" She dipped her chin with a little smile and he thought he detected a hint of blush colouring her white cheeks. "Never thought I'd say that, huh," he grinned impishly. She shook her head. Bob sat back on his heels, smiling as she turned to look at herself again. He felt a sense of satisfaction: Hex had been fixed and effectively neutralized as a threat, and that was half the battle right there. "Battle!!" he exploded, "I nearly forgot!! Uhm, Hex, can you..??"

The room span in actinic colours again. "Of course, Bob," Hex smiled as he dissolved, "Anything for you." She looked at her face again, then looked around at the slime-covered walls. There were errands to do, she mused, too many odd ends left undone. Time to clean up.


End file.
